France and the UK have announced funding for Amazon

French President Emmanuel Macron said this Saturday (2) that he would transfer 500 million euros — about R$2.68 billion — over the next three years to protect the Amazon. Macron made the statement in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“With Brazil we are committed to protecting forests. “For the next three years, France will dedicate 500 million euros to its defense,” Macron said. The statement was accompanied by a photo of him with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at a bilateral meeting at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in the United Arab Emirates.

The announcement came hours after Macron criticized the EU’s Mercosur deal, which he called “irregular” and which he said he was “absolutely against”. He says the deal, which has been negotiated for decades, is “poorly attached” to the shutdown effort.

“[O acordo] It does not take biodiversity and climate into account. It is an age-old trade agreement that eliminates tariffs,” he added.

After a speech following the bilateral meeting, President Lula told his French counterpart that he had the right to protest. “France has always been a difficult country to make agreements with because France is very protectionist,” Lula said.

Amazon Finance
This Saturday morning (2), the United Kingdom announced that it will allocate 35 million pounds (about R$215 million) to the Amazon fund, in addition to the 80 million pounds (R$500 million) already announced in May.